–urges her to aid in raising pageants’ quality
CULTURE, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony met with Miss India Worldwide, Alana Seebarran, at his Main Street office on Friday, where he congratulated her for being the first Guyanese to win the Miss India Worldwide pageant, and urged her to encourage other young persons who are perusing pageantry to follow their dreams. Ms. Seebarran represented Guyana at the 23rd staging of the Miss India Worldwide pageant (2012), held in Suriname on February 25, where she outshone 34 other contestants to take the crown.

“There are normally a lot of pageants in Guyana, but the value of pageantry has been devalued,” Minister Anthony opined. He added that while everybody was promoting a pageant, when the quality was seen, it was diluted and became “just another pageant”.
He stated that Guyana has had challenges in the past, in terms of pageantry, and Ms Seebarran now has an opportunity to lift the quality of such pageants and to inspire young girls.

The queen declared herself overwhelmed and pleased that she could make Guyana proud, and expressed hope that her achievement would not be “a one-time event”.
Although Seebarran would be doing a lot of travelling, she promised that she would work with youth organisations and schools to host programmes to motivate young people. (GINA)